Addressing Emergencies on Campus: The U.S. Department of Education, Family Policy Compliance Office, has issued guidance
intended to assist school officials who may be reassessing their campus safety policies
by offering a summary of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), as
well as pertinent provisions of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) that apply
to postsecondary institutions.

Student Internships – An April 28, 2011 United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit decision affirmed
a lower court’s decision which used the primary benefit test, not the Department of
Labor’s Wage and Hour Division’s Field Operations Handbook six-factor test, to determine
whether or not students in a training program were employees under the Fair Labor
Standards Act. The decision on whether or not student trainees are considered employees
“. . . rested upon whether the trainees received the primary benefit of the work they
performed.” Solis v Laurelbrook Sanitarium and School, Inc.--- F.3d ---

Title IX Guidance - The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights issued a Dear Colleague Letter April 4, 2011 to assist schools, colleges and universities to better understand their
obligations under federal civil rights laws to prevent and respond to the problem
of campus sexual assault. 4/6/11

School Safety Legislation - The Michigan Attorney General recently provided Opinion No. 7252 Responsibility for conducting criminal history background checks of employees of
higher education institutions who provide instruction to K-12 students. The Attorney
General was asked “whether higher education institutions that are engaged in providing
instruction to K-12 students are required to conduct criminal background checks and
obtain fingerprints of their employees who come into contact with K-12 students.”
The Attorney General opined that a higher education institution is not obligated to
require criminal background checks/fingerprinting of their employees who provide instruction
to K-12 students at the K-12 classroom/property. The responsibility for obtaining
a criminal background check rests with the board of a school district, intermediate
school district, academy, or nonpublic school if the higher education instructor is
contracted to provide instruction with the K-12 institution, regularly and continuously
instructs the K-12 student(s), and provides instruction at the K-12 classroom/property.